1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to television receivers, and more particularly to audio-video appliances able to automatically configure themselves and adapt to a variety of specialized personality cards for downloadable and attachable audio-video content.
2. Description of Related Art
Audio-video content is available in a very wide range of subjects, formats, and sources. The home television receiver is a natural way for consumers to access and view the Internet, TV programs off-the-air and on cable, home video, personal photographs, web-pages, movie and other program downloads, games, etc. Many TV receivers have a channel tuner built in, and also have a number of auxiliary video and audio inputs available for games, cable tuners, DVD players, etc. Connector standards include AVI, HDMI, VGA, USB, FIREWIRE, and many others.
Navigating through all these audio-video sources is one problem, and actually playing them is another. To further complicate the situation for the consumer, each device usually has a specialized and incompatible remote commander. Even “universal” remotes don't incorporate the entire user interface that may be distinguishing one brand over another. There are so many incompatible audio and video formats and communications protocols, with specialized equipment and adapters needed for each that a tangle of wires and confusion results on how to select and operate it all.
High definition (HD) video format source content is now becoming widely available on cable TV, satellite TV, on-air broadcasts, DVD disc, etc. Much of this HD content is copyrighted, and a great deal of technical and legal effort goes into protecting the intellectual property. HD copyrighted content is especially sensitive, because high quality copies can be readily made from HD in the clear, and such home made copies will present as well as licensed manufactured copies.
Composite video, component video, DVI, and now HDMI interfaces are common ways that TV monitors are used in homes to receive their video input signals to display. These interfaces are traditionally in-the-clear and easy places to intercept copyrighted content and then use it to generate un-licensed copies. DVD manufacturers and cable operators, for example, have gone to extraordinary lengths to encrypt and scramble their content so unlicensed copies could not be made. But once the licensed content has been decoded and translated, it makes no sense to allow it to come out in-the-clear for a home TV monitor to display.
CableLabs® is a consortium of North American cable operators that manages the CableCARD™-Host Interface License Agreement (CHILA) specifications and associated intellectual property. The CableCARD Host Interface specification defines the interface between a digital cable receiver or set-top box, and a CableCARD module distributed by a cable operator. Such provides a standard platform for two-way interactive devices. By signing an agreement, companies are able to build set-top boxes, customer premises equipment, and other products with a CableCARD™ removable security interface. The products can receive and display advanced cable services, e.g., program guides and video-on-demand (VOD). CHILA is a key component of the effort initiated by North American cable operators to deploy more innovative cable devices in their market. Additional interactive services include, for example, VOD and electronic program guide (EPG).
The high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) was developed for high resolution digital TV's. HDMI provides HD video and advanced audio interfaces in one simplified connector, unlike the earlier digital visual interface (DVI) that was developed primarily for computers and did not envision needing to process audio data. Early TV's, and especially those with DVI connectors, required the audio to be cabled with standard left and right analog channels using RCA-style audio jacks. HDMI and DVI are compatible with high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) for digital multimedia. HDMI supports advanced multi-channel digital audio transfers, like 5.1 Dolby.
HDMI further supports consumer electronics control (CEC), so a single remote control can be used to control both the TV and the source device. CEC is an optional protocol used in HDMI systems that allows HDMI devices to pass control functions along to all the devices within the system. For example, allowing one remote commander to be used for all devices. But, CEC was designed to operate at low speeds with minimal processing and memory overhead. More ambitious control schemes get starved for bandwidth with CEC. Supplementing the HDMI connection with a universal serial bus (USB), for example, can improve high-bandwidth back channel communication as well as speed the transmission of certain control commands. A secure connection is needed when proprietary devices are being interconnected, and licensed content is being transferred over the interfaces. The second path USB could allow a PC to spoof the TV, and thus obtain sensitive information on the details of the data exchange between a set-top-box, or other content source, and a TV.
What is needed is multimedia appliance that can self-adapt and configure itself to the kinds of formats a consumer would want to access, while maintaining substantial protections for the licensed material that consumer would be viewing.